Gene Atherton

Institution Management

Gene Atherton is currently in his 40th year of service in the criminal justice field. He served 27 years for the Colorado Department of Corrections. After promoting thru the ranks, he became Director of Prisons for the Western Region in Colorado until retirement in 2004. For the last fifteen years Mr. Atherton has served as a technical assistance consultant and trainer for the National Institute of Corrections on a variety of topics related to corrections. He has served as an author of numerous ACA publications. He has served as mentor to Afghan Corrections Leadership and as a subject matter expert to the United States Embassy in Afghanistan. He has provided evidence in Federal Court as an expert witness on a variety of correctional issues, including conditions of confinement, use of force, unlawful discrimination, and management of high risk offenders. He is currently serving as an expert for the United States Department of Justice in the application of the CRIPA act to the Alabama Department of Corrections. Finally, Mr. Atherton currently serves as a member of several committees for the American Correctional Association, and as an ACA standards compliance auditor for the nation of Mexico.

Atherton joins Corrections1 through the Correctional Management Institute of Texas. See all the CMIT columnists here.

Full list of Gene Atherton results

6 strategies for preventing radicalization in U.S. jails and prisons
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Having a comprehensive, written policy is very important in managing inmates who wish to radicalize others towards terrorist behavior
Why COs should look into transformational leadership
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The concept has become a trend in correctional leadership development
Combating inmate radicalization in corrections
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An important problem with radicalized inmates is that they provide few — if any — indicators that they are about to commit acts of terror
5 types of use-of-force assessment in corrections
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The following are what a facility’s use of force program would consider important under legal review
6 principles of expert witness work in corrections
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A successful expert witness can significantly influence the outcome of legal decisions which can save money, reputations and shape correctional practices in the future
5 principles of managing terrorists in prison
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Terrorists are high risk prisoners and may seek to turn others to their cause; here are five ways to monitor and prevent the spread of conversion in your facility
How correctional leaders can inspire belief in the mission
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Remember these tips next time you need to introduce a new policy, discipline staff or encourage participation in a new program
5 steps to better ethics in corrections
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How to make sure your staff understands what ethical behavior means and how to achieve it
Success with one is success with many
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Too often correctional leaders feel entitled to overlook relationships in favor of task accomplishment
Colo. program helps provide hope to inmates
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"Seven Habits on the Inside" program focuses on the reality of prison life for offenders who are currently incarcerated
Forming a proper dialogue in corrections
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Success in the correctional world is entirely dependent on effective relationships among everyone involved at every level
Correctional force in the form of effective relationships:
Part II
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To be a relationship warrior in corrections, officers must develop and refine skills and attitudes that contribute to successful relationships
Correctional force in the form of effective relationships:
Part I
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David committed some very violent acts that got him into administrative segregation. From that point on he waged a war with staff. He remained at war continuously while in administrative segregatio...
A common correctional forum despite differences
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It is not uncommon for the shift operations staff to be at odds with the medical staff in the prison infirmary. Often the medical staff feels security is too aggressive with inmates and cannot see ...
Correctional leader as entrepreneur
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Many decisions will not be unanimously supported within the organization and will require risk taking
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